Hands-On: Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket for AT&T

Phone Scoop goes hands-on with the latest Galaxy S II device from Samsung, the Skyrocket. The Skyrocket's claim to fame is that it is one of the first smartphones to include support for AT&T's new Long Term Evolution 4G network.

The Skyrocket for AT&T is amazingly thin for an LTE 4G phone, but not quite as thin as the non-LTE versions of the Galaxy S II. It'll still slip into the tightest pocket, though.

Skyrocket

Click a thumbnail above for a larger view.

As far as feel in the hand is concerned, its it doesn't feel all that different than some of the other Galaxy handsets out there. Because of the huge display, it is an enormous phone and very wide. It's near impossible to get your hand all the way around it. Unlike the other Galaxy S II devices, the Skyrocket's back surface has a smooth texture that feels really nice. It is the only obvious difference between the LTE version and the non-LTE versions. The one bummer is that the Skyrocket still has that plastic-y feel of its Galaxy S predecessors. I would prefer it to feel more solid and see some metal in the design somewhere rather than all the plastic that is used in the housing.

The Super AMOLED Plus display continues to impress. Samsung really knows how to make fantastic displays on its devices. The rest of the Skyrocket takes a minimalistic approach. Thankfully, Samsung whittled the bezel down to almost nothing and the display fills most of the face of the phone. The power/lock key is on the right, the volume toggle is on the left, and there are the usual four buttons below the display.

The user interface builds on Samsung's TouchWiz software. Performance of the user interface was top-notch. Samsung did an excellent job cobbling this device together.

The main calling of this phone, of course, is the LTE 4G radio inside. Since Phone Scoop is not located in one of the five LTE markets that AT&T currently has operating, we're unable to test this vital feature.